Defenders of Realms: Preparations(RotBTD)
by Kyra Tuiama
Summary: The Defenders have gathered. Jack, Hiccup, Merida and Rapunzel must now train for the upcoming battle against Pitch and his dark forces. But when the team becomes separated, their bonds, friendship and teamwork will be tested if they want to reunite before Pitch hunts them off one by one.
1. Separation

You do not, I repeat, _do not_ have to read my previous story to understand this one. Not many details have been carried over. But to prevent confusion, I recommend for new readers to read the first section and italics.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the four franchises(How to Train Your Dragon, Rise of the Guardians, Brave and Tangled) included.

**Previously:**

_ Jack Frost has been tasked by North(Santa) and Man in Moon to gather the fourth generation of warriors known as the "Defenders of Realms" to fight against Pitch. North gives him the Core Compass, a device that will allow him to cross the Four Worlds. Jack seeks out the descendant of North's old companion-Grimbeard the Ghastly, and finds Hiccup on the Isle of Berk. Hiccup's arch nemesis, Alvin the Treacherous, declares war on Berk, eventually conquering it and Stoick(Hiccup's father), convinces his son to flee, prompting Hiccup and Toothless to join Jack's team. _

_ After saving Merida in the Third World, she joins our heroes. Hiccup learns that he is Grimbeard's heir, and might have to end up battling for the position for King of the Wilderwest, the ruler of the islands from his home world. Hiccup receives Grimbeard's old sword, the Endeavour. _

_ In the kingdom of Corona, Jack and the others run into Rapunzel after hiding in her tower while fleeing from Pitch's Nightmares. As the team bond, Pitch appears and attacks them. The Defenders were easily wiped out and Pitch takes Toothless, leaving him in Gothel's care. Now, with Rapunzel in their team, Hiccup pursues sword-fighting and Rapunzel trains with the whip so they can get stronger, rescue Toothless and defeat Pitch. All in three months. _

**Chapter One: Separation**

Breathing out slowly, Hiccup attempted to calm his nerves. His palms became sweaty. He rubbed his right hand against his waistcoat. The left gripped Endeavour firmly. His eyes traveled across from him to where his opponent stood. Hiccup strengthened his gaze.

Merida stood there, one hand on her hip. The other held a sword loosely. "Come on, Hiccup," she grumbled. "Are you going to attack or not."

"Merida, can't you see he's concentrating?" Jack asked from the sidelines. "You're kind of ruining the mood."

Using her arm, Rapunzel nudged Jack from the side. "Just be quiet. This is the first time Hiccup's dueled against Merida. I've heard she's pretty good. Didn't she defeat several Nightmares in a matter of minutes?"

"Oh yeah, that," muttered Jack. "I confused her for a Spartan for a moment."

"Hey!" Merida said, suddenly turning around. "My parents tell me stories about these so-called 'Spartan Warriors' to the East, and I'll let you know that I am not that brutal."

"I know you aren't," said Jack. "That was just to get you off guard since I want to see some action around here."

"What?" Merida blurted out. She suddenly found Endeavour coming straight for her. She swung her sword in reply. Two metal blades clashed. Merida looked at Hiccup for a moment, who was putting his weight onto his sword.

Rapunzel crossed her arms as she met Jack's gaze. "That's cheating, Jack."

"It's not my fault you and Hiccup are keeping me and Merida away from the courtyard for the past three months. We haven't seen some good action for a while, and we want to see your progress. As team leader, I need to know how my subordinates going."

Hiccup pulled his sword back. "Since when did _you_ become our leader?" he hissed. Bringing his blade up, Hiccup managed to parry a thrust from Merida. She pushed down on Hiccup's sword, almost knocking it out of his hand. "Yeah. And you did not just call us your subordinates."

Leaping backwards, Hiccup freed his sword from Merida's. Stepping forward, he aimed for the small space between Merida's hand and the grip. Neatly, he plucked the sword right from her hand, sending it flying into the air. The sword impaled itself onto the floor behind them. Merida watched in awe as a smile came to her face. "You've gotten pretty good," she said. "Or was that beginner's luck."

"Then he must have been really lucky," said Rapunzel. "Because Hiccup managed to defeat Eugene. Twice."

"Is that why he's sulking in the corner?" Jack asked, pointing towards Eugene who was sitting by himself at the edge of the courtyard. Rapunzel sighed. "It's probably because he lost to his own pupil and a fifteen year old."

"Actually," Hiccup began, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "I was born from February 29th. So technically, I'm not even four years old."

Eugene stood up, brushing some dirt off him. He cleared his throat. "Even if Hiccup can defeat one opponent at a time, it won't be helpful if dozens of Nightmares come at him at once. He's going to need a lot more practice. Rapunzel also has her training to focus on. It's already been three months, "

The Defenders nodded, understanding the situation. Jack looked at Hiccup for a moment. He thought back to when they were at the clearing, when Pitch taunted Hiccup for being weak. The winter spirit remembered the fury in Hiccup's eyes when Pitch captured Toothless. Hiccup felt Jack's gaze on him and turned to face him. "What?"

"Nothing," said Jack. "I guess I'm still a little surprised."

"Surprised?" Hiccup repeated. "About what?"

"That you're not going crazy in order to get Toothless back," Jack replied. "You seemed really angry when Pitch separated you two."

Hiccup redirected his gaze to the floor. "I was going to do that at first. I would go to the edge of the worlds to get Toothless. But after getting beat up by Pitch, I figured, that at the strength I had, it would be impossible and my efforts would end in vain. I'd get myself killed before I even reached Toothless, much less save him. So I took that resolve and determination and directed it towards training."

"Do you think you'll be able to get him back now?" asked Rapunzel. Hiccup nodded. "I've never felt better. Or stronger."

Jack smiled at the new Hiccup, one who did only have the heart of a lion, but the skill of a master sword-fighter as well. He turned to look at Merida, who had a rather sad expression on her face. Jack nudged her arm. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Merida replied. "It's just that after sparring with Hiccup, I realized that I haven't sparred with my father in a long time. We used to do it all the time when my mom would have me study about history or something boring. I was just kind of missing it."

"Then go visit your father," Rapunzel suggested. "Take a day away from Corona, head to DunBroch. It shouldn't be a problem. Pitch has been pretty quiet lately."

"I don't think it's a good sign," said Hiccup. "I'm worried that he's going to be planning something big. Merida should be able to go. Just don't go alone."

"I'll take her," said Jack. "I have the Compass too. We'll go and come back within a day or two. Then we'll come back, and we'll go out getting rid of Nightmares and looking for Pitch."

"Sounds good," Merida answered, grabbing her bow and quivers on the ground.

"Wait," said Eugene, stepping in. "What if the Nightmares attack while you guys are there?"

"Attack us?" asked Jack. "It should be alright. Merida and I have been training too. She's accurate, faster, capable of producing stronger shots. I've been working on using my ice and snow to craft items too. We're both stronger. We shouldn't have anything to worry about."

"And if the Nightmares attack us here," Rapunzel began, "we have soldiers, you, Max and me and Hiccup's new strength."

Hiccup thought for a moment before speaking up. Everyone turned to face him. Jack smirked at the expression on Hiccup's face. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking," said Hiccup, "that Pitch tracks us from his Nightmares. I bet he uses them as spies, but even he has limits to his powers. I doubt he knows our true strength in the three month gap we've been rather inactive. So if you do get into a fight against the Nightmares, try not to show off all of your new tactics. If we do, we'll lose our surprise attacks. Pitch would be able to see through them and we'd be at a disadvantage."

"So fight, just not at our full strength until we have to?" Rapunzel clarified.

"Great, now that we have that summarized, can we get going now?" asked Merida, growing impatient. Reaching into his sweatshirt pocket, Jack brought out a golden compass. Slowly, it glowed-the light enveloping him and Merida. "Next stop, DunBroch."

In a gentle flash, the two of them disappeared. Hiccup turned to face Eugene. The former thief looked at Hiccup, curious. "What are you thinking _now_?"

"I want to work on a little technique," said Hiccup. "Where's Max?"

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Opening his eyes, Jack realized that he and Merida stood in the middle of a large lush green forest. He took a deep breath in. Merida looked at him confused. "It's just a forest, Jack."

"Yeah, well," the winter spirit began, stretching out his arms. "You can hardly find forests like these back in my world. It's mostly just concrete and cars over there." Jack paused, realizing that Merida won't understand anything about the technology from his world. "Which way's the palace?"

"I can't even tell where we are," Merida muttered. Using his staff, Jack summoned a wind that carried him high onto the top of the trees. He hovered above the green sea. In the distance, he managed to make out the shape of a castle. He landed back down beside Merida. "It's west," he said. "Follow me."

The Guardian started running through the woods. Merida ran after him, swinging her quiver over her back. Jack nimbly hopped from tree to tree, easily making his way through the dense forest. He turned to see Merida who was trailing behind. "Merida!" he called. "Hurry up."

"Hold on a second," Merida replied. Jack noticed that she was peering towards some bushes. Curious, he flew over. Merida turned to face him, a dark expression in her eyes. In her hands, Jack realized, she held-

"Black scales?" he breathed. Merida nodded solemnly. "There is only one creature I know with black scales."

Jack's eyes widened in realization: Toothless is somewhere in DunBroch.

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Just an average chapter to kick off this installment.

Thanks for checking this story out! If you liked it, look out for Chapter Two: Prey.


	2. Prey

The action and mystery begins! Sort of... Well, more than in the last chapter.

This chapter is more of a thoughts chapter, focusing mainly on Hiccup. I hope you enjoy! It was fun to write!

**Chapter Two: Prey**

Pitch violently swung the door open into a room with a metal jail cell. He growled. "What do you mean the Night Fury has escaped?" he roared furiously. The bars of the cell were burned and singed, with a large gaping hole right in it's center, well large enough for a decent dragon to fit through.

Gothel trailed behind Pitch, slightly angered herself. "It wasn't my fault, Pitch," she said. "I've been doing every single thing you say. Limited his water, keeping a muzzle on him unless he ate. And I've always threatened him with the boy's safety. You could easily kill him with a single strike, after all. You told me yourself he's a hiccup."

"Yes, but it's best not to underestimate your enemies."

Gothel scoffed. "But overestimating them isn't exactly a great idea either. You won't be prepared."

"It's been three months, Gothel," said Pitch. "Three months since I've last seen them. They could have trained, they could have gotten stronger."

"Then why didn't you finish them off earlier?"

"What's the fun of that?" cooed Pitch. "I want to see them suffer a little more. Three months still isn't a lot of time, so they couldn't have improved that much."

"You're underestimating them right there, Pitch," said Gothel. "They are still teenagers. And they can develop their skills pretty quickly. Especially that Jack Frost. He's had three hundred extra years to train."

"And even then he never became that strong," Pitch reminded her. "It's that Hiccup boy I'm worried about. I have a feeling he's still alive. So, to teach that Night Fury a little lesson..." A cloud of dust materialized from the shadows, creating a fresh new Nightmare. It's eyes glowed with murderous intent.

A sinister grin curled up Pitch's lips. "I want you to go to Corona, gather up a little army. Find that Hiccup boy, and kill him."

The dark horse snorted before running out the door, dissolving into the sky. Pitch opened his own world crossing device, a silver pocket watch. Grey light surrounded the skies above him. He exhaled deeply.

"That should take care of the boy," said Gothel. Suddenly, Pitch turned to face her, anger blazing in his eyes. "It is your fault, Gothel. Now, I want _you_ to get your act together."

"And how would you like me to do that?"

"One of my spies tell me their team has separated. Hiccup and Rapunzel are still in Corona in the Fourth World, but Jack and Merida are here in DunBroch. I want you to finish then off. That is, if you want to keep your youth. And your life."

Gothel glared at Pitch for a moment. "Alright. I'll do it. If I can't get revenge on Rapunzel and her husband, her friends will have to do."

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As Hiccup's eyelids twitched slightly, he tossed and turned in his bed. He shifted his position time and time again. It's been months, so Hiccup's back had gotten used to the rather soft mattress. But somewhere inside him, he still missed the rock hard feeling of his wooden bed.

Every few moments, Hiccup would prop himself onto his shoulders, looking forward. And every time, he would be faced with the same sinking feeling in his heart, for there was never Toothless sleeping soundly on his rock. Hiccup caught himself getting up more and more often as he became more and more restless. It became harder to sleep at night because he wasn't sure did Toothless have a bed to sleep in. Did he get enough to eat? Was his body holding up?

Sighing, Hiccup flipped in this bed for the hundredth time that night. He knew that he and the Defenders would head out looking for Pitch soon in order to defeat him. But they would have to rescue Toothless first.

The more Hiccup thought about it, the more guilty he felt. He had left his best friend who knows where for three months and who knows what happened to him. Even if they did rescue Toothless, what was Hiccup going to say? That he couldn't come right away because he wasn't strong enough to? Would Toothless even understand?

The Night Fury was one of the strongest dragons out there. Being weak would be a concept that Toothless wouldn't exactly understand. The Night Fury had been captured at times, but he always managed on his own. Compared to Hiccup, who always needed someone to help him. And despite Toothless' handicap of not being to fly on his own, the dragon wasn't exactly helpless.

All in all, Hiccup was incredibly worried that Toothless had lost faith in him.

Staring at the ceiling, Hiccup exhaled loudly. "Well, I'm not feeling any better," he muttered to himself. Hiccup threw the blankets off himself. He swung his legs off the bed. Stretching his arms for a moment, Hiccup's eyes drifted to his sword sitting beside his bed.

It was when they had just started training when Jack told them that they should never go anywhere unarmed. Who knew when Pitch was planning to attack. Not wanting to take any chances, Hiccup strapped the scabbard to his belt before walking out his room.

Stepping out into the hallways, it was dead silent in the middle of the night. Candles and torches decorated the walls, lighting up the paths. The palace became much less of a maze the longer Hiccup stayed. Earlier on, he had to have Eugene direct him to the bathroom if he didn't want to get lost.

The only noise in the hallways were Hiccup's own footsteps. Though there was a strange sensation going on inside of him. His instincts were tugging at him. Hiccup suddenly turned around, only to find nothing to there. He heaved a sigh of relief. "I'm way too tense. There's no way someone's following me."

Hiccup made his way to the balcony. Some of the guards in the surrounding area simply nodded. One of them leaned in slightly closer. "Up again, Hiccup?"

The young heir chuckled. "Sorry. Can't get much sleep."

"You're carrying your sword," said the guard. "If you're feeling uneasy about your safety, then rest assured. Me and the guards will protect you."

"Thank you," said Hiccup. "But I feel more at ease with Endeavour around. Sorry if it offends your abilities."

"Of course not."

Smiling slightly, Hiccup made his way to the edge of the balcony. Resting his arms on the rails, his gaze redirected to the night sky. The dark canvas was painted with countless stars, dotting every inch of it.

Looking up, Hiccup noticed the feeling of yearning in his heart. He missed the sky. He missed the wind in his hair and the almost sheer weightlessness of flight. He wanted to leap off Toothless' saddle, dive down towards the ground and pull back up at the least second. Just thinking about it made Hiccup's heart pound with excitement.

There were plenty of times in which Hiccup felt he belonged in the sky on his dragon more than on the ground with an apron and a pair of tongs in the blacksmith shop.

In the center of the sky was the moon. The more he looked at it, the more Hiccup felt like the moon was looking back at him. It was like Jack had said. Sometimes, it feels like Man in Moon was watching them. Protecting them. Hiccup smiled to himself.

Behind Hiccup, a gag was suddenly heard. Hiccup whipped his body around, his left hand subconsciously making it's way to Endeavour's hilt. One of the guard's helmets rolled onto the balcony, prompting Hiccup to shift his stance.

A Nightmare suddenly leaped from the shadows. Exclaiming in surprise, Hiccup drew his sword. Just as the Nightmare was about to reach him, Hiccup swung his sword, swiftly cutting the Nightmare in half. In a loud screech, it fell to the ground, turning into black sand.

Hiccup's pupils suddenly moved. In the corner of his eye, he saw another Nightmare coming from behind him. Hiccup was caught off guard as the Nightmare slammed it's hoof into his stomach, sending him onto the ground. Air was forced out of lungs.

More Nightmares aligned themselves on the balcony's edge. A snort escaped from most of them. Gritting his teeth, Hiccup stood up with his sword gripped tightly. His own words echoed in his mind. _Try not to show of all of your new tactics. _

"Easier said than done!" Hiccup swung as the Nightmares charged. He slid down between the legs of one. Bringing his sword up, he stabbed it from below. He closed his eyes to prevent sand from falling into them.

Using his sleeve, Hiccup wiped whatever sand was on his face away. As he regained his proper stance, another Nightmare came at him from his left. Swiftly, Hiccup's brought up his sword and thrusted it forward, piercing it's chest. The Nightmare disintegrated.

In his chest, Hiccup could feel his heart pound faster and faster. This was his first battle that he was fighting alone. And he was actually holding up. He felt lighter. Hiccup felt a little proud, coming all this way with only three months of intense training.

Hiccup was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts. One more Nightmare was behind him. Turning around, Hiccup's thrusted him into the air. The boy flew over the Nightmare. It didn't have a chance to react in time. Quickly, Hiccup dug his sword into the Nightmare's back and the black horse crumbled into dust as he landed.

Panting, Hiccup landed on his feet and got down to an almost squatting position, with one knee on the ground. He took a deep breath in. Looking around, Hiccup made sure that there were no more Nightmares. His heart beat slowing down and no longer pulsing in his ears, Hiccup sheathed in sword.

From across the hallway, footsteps could be heard. Emerging from the corridors of the castle came-

"Rapunzel!" breathed Hiccup. Behind the Princess, Eugene quickly came running with a whole group of soldiers. Rapunzel hurried over to Hiccup.

"What happened?" she asked urgently. Her eyes drifted to the black sand near Hiccup's prosthetic and spread out across the balcony. She gasped. Hiccup nodded. "Nightmares."

"Oh my gosh, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Hiccup wheezed, getting up. It took him a moment, but the sensation of realization smacked him hard. Rapunzel smiled at him. "Congratulations, Hiccup," she said. "You had just defeated your first set of Nightmares."

"Don't forget to thank the instructor," Eugene added. But Hiccup's face remained stoic. Rapunzel's expression was replaced with one of worry. "Hiccup, what's wrong?"

"The Nightmares attacked me when I was alone, and in the middle of the night," said Hiccup. "Pitch is finally making his move. He wants us dead."

"Meaning?" said Eugene.

Hiccup swallowed the large lump in his throat. "We are now his prey."

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And Hiccup takes on a level of badass!

I don't really like it when people write Hiccup as a weak and defenseless character. He's strong in his own right! But that chapter ended up a little longer than what I expected.

Oh well, look out for "Chapter Three: The Price of Immortality". Yes, it's time for Jack to be smacked in the face with the cruel reality that he is immortal.


	3. The Price of Immortality

Sorry it took a while for this update, but I finally had time to write! I'm trying to write a novel in one month, this month, so a lot of my writing time is going to that project. I just hope it's not too short.

**Chapter Three: The Price of Immortality**

A loud roar echoed in the forests surrounding the Kingdom of DunBroch.

Swinging his prosthetic tail, the red tail-fin slashed an approaching Nightmare, covering Toothless in it's black sands. The Night Fury shook the debris off it's face, growling.

Opening his mouth, Toothless turned and fired at another Nightmare coming at him from behind. Without waiting a second longer, he darted through the forest, leaving the Nightmares behind in the dust.

Trees and bushes brushed against Toothless' hard reptilian skin, but he couldn't care less and parts of his prosthetic had torn off, holding onto some branches. He had spent three months in a small prison cell, and had finally busted himself out. He craved freedom.

Initially, the dragon had endured the small meals that Gothel provided him with, mostly because it would keep him alive in extreme conditions. At first, his body barely managed to keep up with the limited food and water. But as the months continued, he found himself becoming more resilient, his adaptive instincts kicking in.

But he didn't want to stay in that cell any longer. It had nothing to do with Hiccup not coming to rescue him. Toothless knew that Hiccup wouldn't do something he was sure he was going to fail it, and he was sure that his rider was doing everything he could so that their reunion would be successful.

Although it meant that if Hiccup became stronger, he would have to as well. Toothless was determined to survive on his own in the forest without flight for a few days, making sure that he would be able to handle himself on the ground as much as in the air.

He was going to fire shots to his limit in hunting. With luck, he could increase his shot limits. He would hunt during the day to practice his shots. And in the night, he would work on his echolocation ability.

Toothless was determined to become stronger. Because as soon as he and Hiccup reunited, they would become an endless barrage of attacks. Strong attacks that Pitch couldn't have seen coming.

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Merida and Jack walked through the forest, following Jack's directions towards DunBroch's royal castle. The winter spirit kicked a stone on the ground and watched it fly across the dirt. "Well we're going at a surprisingly slow rate."

"Just walk slowly," Merida hissed. Her hand still held one of the black scales they had found earlier. "If Toothless is nearby, I want to catch a sight of more scales. We have to move slowly if we don't want to miss any details."

"That's not exactly fun, is it?" Jack groaned. His eyes wandered across the forest. In the distance, he noticed a figure wrapped in a cloak. A hood was covering his face. Using his arm, Jack nudged Merida's shoulder. Merida followed Jack's finger as he pointed to the mysterious man. "Who is that?"

Merida shook her head. "I've never seen him around the kingdom before. Maybe he came from one of the neighboring clans and got lost."

The man dropped to his knees.

"Well wherever he's from, he needs help," said Jack. "Let's go."

Jack and Merida ran towards the stranger together. As they approached, they started to notice that black hair with occasional gray streaks were hanging out from the person's face. Jack tilted his head. "A woman?"

The woman had her hands and knees on the ground. She was breathing heavily, as if she was trying to catch her breath. The cloak covered most of her body, leaving only her hands clearly exposed to the sunlight. There were a few wrinkles on them.

Carefully, Merida approached the woman. "Excuse us, ma'am, but are you alright?"

In a split second, the woman got up to her feet. One of her arms wrapped itself around Merida's neck, pulling her closer. The other held a knife to her throat. Merida's fingers around her bow became stiff and rigid. She didn't dare move. Jack's instincts quickly reacted as he poised to attack, his staff pointing at the woman.

"Who are you?" Jack demanded fiercely. "Let my friend go."

The hood slowly fell off, revealing her face. A slightly elderly woman with red lips and an evil, power hungry gaze in her eyes. "I," she said, "am Gothel. And I don't think I'll be letting your little friend go, Jack."

"Gothel?" Merida choked out. "You're the one who imprisoned Rapunzel in the tower for eighteen years!" She whimpered slightly as Gothel brought the knife a little higher, closing in on her chin.

"Ah, so you've heard of me. Though I would prefer that you stayed quiet, little missy."

"Let her go," Jack demanded again, the tip of his staff starting to gain a light blue glow. Noticing this, Gothel looked at him curiously. "Are you sure, Jack? I wouldn't want to think what would happen to Merida if you were to attack me with a bolt of ice."

Gritting his teeth, Jack slowly brought his staff down. His expression was still stern and his instincts incredibly active.

Gothel smiled deviously. "Well, congratulations, you just extended your friend's life. Not that it's going to matter in a long run."

Jack furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you could save Merida's life now but it wouldn't matter in a hundred years or so. By then, all of your little teammates would have passed on, leaving you just where you started: alone."

Inside Jack, a feeling of despair grew. What Gothel was saying had a point. He was a spirit. He would live forever, assuming he wasn't killed. He would be the only left and his friends all would have left.

"Being immortal," said Gothel. "It's a sad thing, isn't it? More of a curse than a blessing."

Merida stomped her foot right onto Gothel's. The old woman shrieked and nearly lost her grip on the knife. Growling in frustration, Gothel held the knife even closer. Merida could feel the blade's cold metal on her neck. She became afraid to even gulp. Jack brought his staff up once again.

Gothel turned to look at him. "Since your friend insists on dying, why don't I give you a little glimpse of what you're going to feel once all your friends have left you behind!"

Before Gothel managed to move a single muscle, Jack fired, grunting angrily as he did. Freezing ice struck Gothel's shoulder just as her hand moved the knife. As the arm began to fall, the knife missed Merida's neck as it's target, making contact with her shoulder instead.

Seeing opportunity, Merida quickly broke free of Gothel's grasp. Her hands grabbed an arrow as she instantly loaded her bow. Jack swiped his staff in the air, creating sharp icicles pointed in Gothel's direction.

The old woman shot forward towards Jack, brushing the icicles aside. Gothel grabbed Jack's sweatshirt, almost as if she was reaching into his pocket. Jack leaped backwards as Merida allowed an arrow to fly. Gothel leaned backwards, narrowly avoiding it. Jack felt the Core Compass in his pocket, heaving a sigh of relief that it was still there.

"Alright," said Gothel. "You win this round. But remember my words, Jack! You will be alone!" With that, Gothel threw her cloak around her and suddenly disappeared. Merida allowed her stance to drop and Jack called off his icicles.

The winter spirit fell to his knees. Inside, Jack felt hollow and numb. He was going to be alone once again, with no one but the Guardians, and they would be busy. Tooth and Sandy each had millions of kids to deal with everyday. North and Bunny would become occupied with preparing for their respective holidays and continuing that rivalry. And he knew that one day, Jamie might become too busy. They couldn't have regular snowball fights anymore. Like his teammates, Jamie would eventually pass away as well.

There would be no one around him. Not all the kids could see him either, since most of them haven't even heard of him. He might as well go back to being alone.

Beside him, Merida crouched down. "Jack, are you okay?"

"No, I'm not," Jack murmured in reply. "Gothel was right. One day, I'll go back to being alone." A dry laugh escaped his lips. "I guess you should be a little mad. After all, I never told you guys that I was immortal."

Merida gave him a curious look. "What are you talking about? Ever since you said you were a spirit, we figured you were immortal. And personally, I don't mind the fact that you live forever."

"Well I do," Jack grumbled in reply. "I don't want to go back to living alone. After all you guys, you know...die, I won't have anyone around anymore."

"That's not true," said Merida. "Even if we die, our souls and spirits will still be around."

"But I won't get to talk to you guys or pick on Hiccup or watch you and Hiccup spar, or watch Rapunzel work her healing magic."

"But you will feel our presence," Merida told him sternly. "We're comrades, Jack. We stay together no matter what. You will definitely not be alone."

Turning to Merida, Jack gave her a warm smile. "Thanks." Jack suddenly paused and raised an eyebrow. He peered over Merida's shoulder, and noticed something red in the bushes. Getting up, Jack walked over to it.

Merida followed him. Her eyes widened when she realized what it was. A red patch with a white skull drawn onto it. Toothless' prosthetic.

"I knew it," said Merida. "Toothless really is in DunBroch."

"We'd better get back and contact Hiccup," insisted Jack. Reaching into his pocket, Jack brought out the Core Compass. But when he did, he felt his heart sink. The lid was cracked and a part of had even fallen off. Jack clicked the lid open, and inside, the needles were all twisted. The Compass had lost it's golden shine.

"What happened?" asked Merida.

"It's Gothel," Jack replied between gritted teeth. "She did something to the Compass. And now, I bet it's broken."

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I'm not sure is this the same as everyone else's take on the issue, but this is how I see it. :3 And the whole thing about dragon adaptability was just something I made up. I needed a way for Toothless to get stronger as well, and this was all I could come up with. The echolocation ability however, wasn't made up, as it showed up in episode 19 of Riders of Berk.

Oh, and a reviewer once asked me about pairings. There shouldn't be much, and the only visible pairing(not counting Rapunzel's marriage to Eugene)should be JackxMerida. That is, if you squint you should be able to see it. I'm not much of a romance writer, so adding pairings would most likely bring the quality of my writing down. :-/ Sorry if that disappoints or upsets anyone!

Look out for Chapter Four: The Broken Compass


	4. The Broken Compass

Well, it seems that the gods hate me. People in my family keep getting sick, so I'm kind of split between taking care of them and writing. Anyway, here's Chapter Four! Oh, and I thought I'd start giving previews for the following chapters in the form of three random quotes from the next chapter. :)

**Chapter Four: The Broken Compass**

The Winter Spirit had a lot on his mind. Jack sat atop the roof of DunBroch's royal castle. He wanted to get some shuteye, but anxiety gnawed at him like a dog with a chew toy. He didn't have time to think of the hundred of years he was going to have to spend without this group of friends, and it made him wonder how long is "forever"? Jack quickly pushed the thoughts out of his mind. He had much more pressing issues to deal with.

The Core Compass was broken. He had tried using it, but nothing happened. He and Merida had figured out that Toothless was in DunBroch, and they had to get the message to Hiccup. But now that they can't get back to Corona, what can they do?

Merida insisted that they waiting until morning so they could rest up. Admittedly, Jack didn't feel any better. The longer they wait, the stronger Pitch gets. And he had plenty of time for three months. Jack gripped his staff tighter. _No, he wasn't the only one who became stronger._

Jack was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts. To the north of the castle, there was the sound of shattering glass. Jumping to his feet, Jack peered over the rooftop, but couldn't see a thing. Below him, Jack caught the sound of footsteps of the guards. "Hey!" he called to none of the guards in particular. "What's going on?"

"Someone broke into the castle!" one of them replied urgently. "It came from the direction of the Princess' room!"

"What?" Jack swung his staff and the wind quickly carried him to the other side of the castle. His eyes landed on a broken window. Jack hauled himself through it and found himself in a wooden room. "What's going on?" he demanded.

And it seems that Merida was already way ahead of him. In the center of the room, was Gothel, knife in hand in a striking position. On the other end of the room, Merida had her bow poised to fire. She seemed to be in her nightgown, but Jack couldn't care less right now. The winter spirit suddenly looked at her curiously. "You keep your bow in your bedroom?"

"I'm attached to it!" Merida protested.

Gothel turned to Jack and shot the Guardian a deadly glare. "You keep getting in my way, Frost," she growled.

Jack pointed his staff at her. "You did something when we ran into in the forest. The Core Compass is broken. You had better tell us how to fix it!"

"And why would I do that?" Gothel answered, almost in a sing-song voice. Jack was tempted to freeze her guts out or yell at her. But Merida had beaten him to the yelling. "Because a friend of ours is worried sick about something, and we need to calm his nerves. Now tell us how to fix the Compass, or I'll shoot."

A sinister grin appeared on Gothel's face. "I don't think I have to tell you youngsters anything."

From the windows, a strong burst of air flew in, forcing Gothel to the wall. Merida quickly scurried out of the way. She turned and fired, pinning Gothel's sleeves to the wall. Jack followed by forming icicles on the old woman's feet, making sure she couldn't move. With another arrow, Merida knocked Gothel's knife from her hands.

"You magic wind was very convenient," said Merida.

"Thanks."

Standing at the door was an army of guards, with Fergus and Elinor right up front. Before her parents managed to even say anything, Merida assured them that she was fine. The guards hacked away Gothel's ice and dragged her away, most likely to lock her up in the dungeon below the castle.

An exhausted sigh escaped Jack's lips. "I don't think Gothel's going to talk. We're going to have to figure out what to do with the broken compass on our own."

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Rapunzel and Eugene stared at Hiccup miraculously. Berk's young heir was atop the leader of the palace guards, Maximus the Horse, and was actually riding him with ease. Max never protested, or kicked Hiccup in the stomach, causing Eugene to become a little jealous.

On the horse, Hiccup was taking it for a few rounds across the castle courtyard. He pulled Max to a stop near Rapunzel and Eugene. He was panting slightly, and tried to catch his breath and he turned to ask, "So? How was that?"

"You managed to ride Max in like five minutes!" Eugene exclaimed. "Do you have any idea what _I_ had to go through to let me ride him?"

Max smugly snorted at Eugene in reply, earning him laughs from Rapunzel. "Though it's really a wonder how you managed to learn to ride him so quickly. You said you've never been on horseback before."

"Nope," said Hiccup nonchalantly. "But I've spent countless hours dragon-back. And a horse is much easier to get a hang of than a Night Fury."

"I doubt that," said Eugene. "It took me _two days_ for Max to let me to ride him."

Tilting his head to the side, Hiccup looked at Eugene, raising his eyebrows. "On day three I still had to run around and chase Toothless to get a saddle for him. And we didn't get an actual flight in a few weeks."

"Okay, you win," Eugene muttered. "You know Hiccup, you've got to be the most skilled pupil I've ever had."

"I bet I'm the only pupil you've ever had. But thanks." Snapping Max's reins, Hiccup went for another lap around the courtyard. Rapunzel and Eugene watched from the sidelines, sitting back and enjoying Hiccup's training. Rapunzel was rather confident that she had finished up her training. She was proud of her newfound agility and skills. But the one who made the most impressive improvement, was by far, Hiccup.

"He has a big resolve," Eugene suddenly said, earning Rapunzel's attention.

"What?" she blurted out.

"Hiccup. The reason he able to become so strong so quickly isn't just because he's in that stage where one develops quickly, but because his resolve and determination was incredibly firm. He really loves Toothless." Eugene sighed. "A big resolve and an even bigger heart. If what Jack and Merida told me about his ancestor, Grimbeard the Ghastly, is true..."

Eugene's voice trailed off, but Rapunzel understood what he was thinking. "How is a destiny like that supposed to affect Hiccup?"

In the distance, the pair managed to make out the figure of Hiccup on Max. Except this time, Hiccup seemed to be a little taller and was wobbling.

"Is he trying to stand on Max?" asked Eugene. Rapunzel shrugged in reply just as Max pulled up in front of them, with Hiccup tumbling off the saddle, groaning and slumping onto the floor. "I bet that would work better on Toothless."

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"Are you sure you know where you're going?" Jack asked Merida. He trailed behind her as they walked into the forest, leaving Angus back at the ring of stones. Merida insisted that she knew someone who might be able to help with the broken Compass. With not much of a lead on anything else, Jack figured that they might as well try.

"Yes, I'm sure where I'm going," said Merida. "Considering that it's not going to disappear again." Poking her head through several bushes and looking around countless branches, Merida found an old wooden cottage sitting in the woods. "There it is!"

Merida ran to it excitedly. Jack stopped behind her. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. You brought me all the way out here to look for a dinky house? Who lives in it, an old hag?"

"But she's a witch!" replied Merida. "She was able to transform my mom, and some other rich prince who lived centuries ago, into bears with the strength of ten men."

Jack placed a hand on his chin, as if considering the offer. "That doesn't sound too bad."

"Jack," Merida hissed. "That's not the point. If she can do that, maybe she knows a bit of how we can fix the Compass."

"Fair enough."

Already in front of the wooden door, Merida knocked on it. The door swung open, revealing a small elderly woman. "Ah, the red-haired Princess. You're back! Are you satisfied with all my wooden carvings? And how is your mother?"

"Both are fine," said Merida. Jack walked up to the cottage, standing beside Merida. The Princess quickly dove her hand into Jack's sweatshirt pocket and brought out the Core Compass. "I was wondering if you know anything about this Compass."

The witch took it from Merida's hands. "Ah, the Core Compass is it?"

Jack and Merida exchanged surprised glances.

"How did you know?" Jack asked.

For a moment, the witch gave Jack an annoyed look. "Are you insulting me white-haired child? I would know my own creation!"

"You made this?" breathed Merida.

"Of course!" the witch answered. "It's actually rather advanced magic, and was very skilled back in my younger days." The witch walked out of the house and clicked her fingers. She walked back in, revealing now a witch's lair. "Let's see, it was about three hundred years ago when a big guy with a white beard asked me to join him and a viking on his quest."

"You knew North?" exclaimed Jack.

"Nicholas St. North, I think it was. He was a skilled warrior. The other lad was Grimbeard the Ghastly. We drove Pitch Black into hiding. I hear he's back." The witch stopped and turned to look at Jack. "I suppose he's back, since you're here."

Jack dropped his shoulders. "I'm not even going to ask anymore."

The witch pointed a finger at Jack. "You are from the First World. Judging that you know North, I'd say you're a Guardian."

Merida stepped in between the two of them. "This is fascinating and all, but we just need the Compass fixed. We need to get to Hiccup and Rapunzel in the Fourth World as soon as possible."

The witch paused to think for a moment. "I suppose since you're a friend of North's I'll fix the Compass for free."

"Alright!" cheered Jack, as he offered Merida a high-five. The Princess was confused for a moment. Jack felt slightly embarrassed. "You smack back."

"What?"

"It's something we do in my world."

Merida suddenly smacked Jack's face, sending him spinning to the ground. "I meant on the hand!" the winter spirit croaked. The Princess placed her hand on her hips. "Well you should have been more specific."

"However," the Witch began, "it's going to take a few days."

"What?" said Jack, getting up from the floor and supporting his weight over on his staff. For some reason, that smack felt like it hurts more than a Nightmare hoof to the face. But he quickly brushed it off. "We can't wait that long."

The witch turned and starting rummaging through one of her shelves. She brought out two necklaces, each with a turquoise gemstone. "These were my prototypes before the Core Compass."

"Do they work?" asked Merida.

"Yes," said the witch. "But while it can't transport humans, it can transport written messages."

Jack nodded. "We'll have to settle with that for now."

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Not very eventful, somewhat important. Anyway, the Compass is going to get somewhat of an upgrade, so I can't have them using it yet. :3

Look out for the next chapter: Contact!

And as promised, some preview quotes!

"It's not impossible."

"We have to try!"

"I won't stop until we can find a way to get to DunBroch!"


	5. Contact

Now that I've reached Chapter Five, this marks halfway of the second installment!

Also, jasminejohnson41 wrote a RotBTD fanfic based on this one, so you might want to check it out as well!

**Chapter Five: Contact**

Swinging her whip, Rapunzel managed to grab Endeavour, effectively pulling the sword out of Hiccup's grip. Reaching out, Rapunzel managed to catch it in her spare left hand. "Ha, I win," she cheered. Handing the blade back to Hiccup, the young boy looked at her rather curiously.

"You know, this is rather unfair," he muttered. "I can't break my sword free from your whip without slicing it to bits."

"That just proves you still need improvement," Eugene commented from the sides. "Hiccup, work on your agility. Don't make me run you through an obstacle course."

Groaning, Hiccup dropped his shoulders. "If it involves lugging sheep I'm not doing it."

"'Thawfest' was it?" asked Rapunzel. "That sports competition that happens once a year at your tribe."

Hiccup nodded. "I didn't enjoy it. Much."

His eyes moved to the courtyard's entrance. Upon noticing one of the palace guards running towards them, Hiccup sheathed Endeavour. The guard ran up, panting. Eugene stood up urgently. "Did something happen."

"A message fell from the sky," the guard wheezed.

"Fell from the sky?" Eugene repeated. "That's ridiculous."

"Well, a drop of the sun once fell once," said Rapunzel. "So a message isn't exactly impossible. Is it for us?"

The guard handed the Princess a rather large envelope. On it, was a strange red seal in the shape of four intertwining circles. There were small words sitting in the corner of the envelope. Squinting his eyes, Hiccup managed to read it. "To: Hiccup and Rapunzel in Corona. From Jack and Merida!"

"They sent us a message!" cried Rapunzel. Hurriedly, she tore off the seal and thanked the guard so that he may able to return to his guard post. Opening the envelope, Rapunzel found a small piece of parchment. Carefully, Rapunzel sat cross-legged on the ground, Hiccup and Eugene following her example. Rapunzel placed the piece of paper in the middle of them all. On it was the following message in messy handwriting:

_Testing, testing. Does this thing even work? _

_ Well, that aside, we're going to make things short. Gothel attacked us twice. She's currently imprisoned in the dungeon below DunBroch Castle. Merida's a little wounded. But other than that, we're fine. The Compass isn't though. And it's busted. We met up with a witch Merida knows. She says she can fix the Compass, but it's going to take three days. We can't wait that long, so she gave us a pair of necklaces that can send messages across the worlds. We sent one of the necklaces as well, and one of them's here in DunBroch so we can get a conversation flowing. _

_ To use the necklace, just place the stone over the message. It should wrap up on it's own and disappear. If you guys really do get this message, which Jack is somewhat skeptical that you will, please reply. _

_Jack Frost and the Spartan Princess(Merida)_

"Well Jack has nice handwriting," Hiccup grumbled. Looking up, Hiccup noticed Rapunzel's shocked expression, her eyes wide. "Rapunzel, what's wrong?"

"I can't believe Gothel attacked them," she replied, disbelief in her voice. "Twice!" Rapunzel exhaled loudly. "I can't believe this."

"She's allied herself with Pitch," said Eugene. "It's expected that they're going after Jack and Merida." He turned to Hiccup. "Your hunch was right. We can't go anywhere alone." Standing up, Eugene started to head towards the castle. "I'll go grab a piece of paper so we can send them our reply."

"Sounds good," Rapunzel agreed. Picking up the envelope, she turned it upside. A necklace with the turquoise fell out, landing on the soft grass. Rapunzel picked it up and looked at it for a moment. "Is this the necklace they were talking about?"

"Unless there's another one in the envelope, I don't think so," said Hiccup. He grabbed the envelope and felt the paper. "It's a little damp. Does this witch live in the middle of the forest or something? Or beside a lake? It's also a little cool." For a moment, Hiccup paused. "Damp and slightly cool paper, huh?" he whispered. A small smile appeared on his face.

"Hiccup?" said Rapunzel softly.

"Oh, it's nothing," Hiccup answered. "It's just that it reminds me a bit of Berk. Nothing's ever dry there. It's either a little wet and warm or a little wet and cold." Hiccup realized that a few tears were threatening to appear. He quickly blinked them away. "I just haven't been home in a while. I'm just feeling a little nostalgic." Hiccup sighed. "I wonder how are the others doing right now. I hope they're holding up against Alvin."

Rapunzel placed a hand on his shoulder reassuringly. "From what you've told me, I bet they're hanging on. Your team of dragon riders seem pretty strong. Especially that Astrid." Hiccup's face suddenly turned red at the mention of his second in command. Rapunzel looked at him teasingly. "You like Astrid don't you?"

"W-what?" Hiccup blurted out, holding up his arms. "No, no. It's not like that. I-"

"I heard from Jack that she kissed you before you left," Rapunzel chimed. "You even spaced out after it."

His cheeks burning even more, Hiccup sighed in defeat as he brought his arms down. "I'll slice Jack when he gets back."

A few moments later, Eugene came back into the courtyard, holding out a charcoal pencil and several pieces of paper. "Alright," he said, sitting back down. "What are we going to send back?"

Hiccup took the paper and pencil from Eugene's hands and started scribbling words down. He then paused. "You think Jack can read Norse?"

"As long as it's not too old, I think so," replied Rapunzel. Nodding, Hiccup continued writing and ended up with the following message.

_We got your message. It's a bit of a shock that Gothel's back. On our side, Pitch attacked me(Hiccup) in the middle of the night. I managed to defend them off, so no one else got hurt. Rapunzel's also perfectly fine. We're wrapping up our training and should be able to head out as soon as you come back. But you said that you 'can't wait three days', so what's so urgent? _

_Hiccup, Rapunzel & Eugene_

_PS: If you told Rapunzel about me and Astrid, what else did you tell the others? -Hiccup_

"That should do it," said Hiccup. He had the paper on the ground with one hand, while the other held the necklace with the other. It's gemstone glowed softly before the paper suddenly wrapped itself in an envelope and disappeared into thin air.

"Now all we have to do is wait for their reply," said Rapunzel.

"Yep," said Hiccup, stretching as he got up. "In the meantime..." The young heir drew his sword. "Wanna go for another round, Eugene."

The former thief grinned. "Why not."

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"How long do we have to wait?" mumbled an increasingly bored Merida. She turned to Jack, who had his head slumped on a nearby table. "And I don't understand why did you have to sign me off as the 'Spartan Princess'."

"It suits you that way," Jack replied, poking the various shelves in the witch's lair with his staff. In front of him, a small envelope suddenly materialized. Slowly, it landed in his hand. "Great, I think Hiccup and Rapunzel got our message.

"Well let's see what it says," said Merida. Jack quickly opened the envelope and read through the message. He paused for a moment. "You think Hiccup is going to kill me?"

"No," Merida quickly replied. Grabbing another piece of parchment, she quickly scribbled down the return message.

_Glad to see you can hold your own ground. It's a good thing you guys are finishing up your training. We've got some big news: Toothless is here. In DunBroch. It seems he's broken out of Pitch's confinements and is now running around the forests of DunBroch. We haven't seen him yet, but we've seen his tail and some scales. We're certain he's here. _

Upon grabbing the necklace from Jack, Merida turned to face the witch behind him. "Admittedly, I'm surprised that this thing actually works." In seconds, the message disappeared .

The old woman seemed offended. "I happen to be a very successful witch! You've seen what I've done with your mother."

Grinning, Jack rested his weight onto his staff. "This isn't fun," he muttered. "I was hoping to see the look on Hiccup's face when we tell him we found his dragon."

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"They found Toothless!" Hiccup yelled, jumping from his sitting position on the grass. His hands gripped the message from Merida tightly. "He escaped on his own," he whispered. A large sigh of relief escaped from Hiccup's mouth as he slowly flopped back down onto the grass. He suddenly yawned. "Now that my worries about Toothless have been eased, I suddenly feel sleepy."

Hiccup quickly got up to his feet. "What am I saying? I've got to get to him!"

"Well it seems that someone's excited," said Rapunzel. Turning to Eugene, the man handed Hiccup another piece of paper, and the boy hurriedly scribbled all over it.

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"'Find another way of crossing the worlds'?" Jack repeated from what Merida said as she read off the latest message. "Hiccup's going to try to do that?"

Merida nodded. "He says that if these necklaces are somewhat of another medium, there must be another way to cross the worlds." Merida paused for a moment. "He has a point. If the Core Compass is the only method of traveling, how can the other worlds cross? And if the Core Compass was made only during the third generation, which is North and the witch's generation, how did the Defenders cross the worlds before?"

For a moment, Jack stared at Merida with an impressed expression. "You figured all of that out?"

"Nope," said Merida, holding up the message on her hand for Jack to see. "Hiccup did."

"The guy's got brains," said Jack. The winter spirit thought for a moment. "Alright. If he can find a way to cross the worlds within three days or less, Hiccup can bring Rapunzel here. If not, we're going to have to wait until the Core Compass if fixed then go to Corona to pick him up."

"I'll tell him that," replied Merida, already writing another note. She paused for a moment. "You know he's going to be desperate to find a way right?"

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"Are you sure there's another way to cross between the worlds?" Eugene asked, folding his arms. The former thief towered above Hiccup, but Berk's young heir didn't falter and stood up as well.

"It's not impossible," Hiccup said sternly in reply. "According to Jack, we're the fourth generation of the Defenders of Realms. If the compass was only created in the previous generation, how did the first and second generations cross worlds? There's another method, and I'm going to find it."

Standing up, Rapunzel stepped in between the two. "Well, if that's the case, I know the perfect place to start: the library!"

Quickly, Hiccup ran off with Rapunzel and Eugene trailing behind him. Hiccup made his way through the castle corridors, turning where the paths split and nimbly made his way through the staircases and hallways. He didn't know the palace like the back of his hand like Berk, but at least he can find his way around.

Hiccup found himself in a large spacious room. Inside were countless rows of bookshelves. Initially, he was overwhelmed by how much information was stored here. Back in the Barbaric Archipelago, the only actual book he knew was the Book of Dragons. Vikings aren't exactly big readers.

Eugene walked up beside him. "There is no way you can find a single piece of information in all of that."

"We have to try!" Hiccup said sternly, rushing in towards one of the nearby shelves.

"You can't possibly read all of these books," Eugene added.

"My parents say that some of the books here are very old. I bet if we look into those old sections, we could find something about the old fashioned ways of crossing worlds. The older generations must have left some kind of records."

Eugene stared at Hiccup miraculously as the boy shifted though several bookshelves, looking for anything that might be of importance. Outside, the sun was beginning to set. Looking at his pupil, Eugene sighed. "You're going to be searching all night, aren't you?"

Hiccup bobbed his head. "I'm won't stop until I find a way to get to DunBroch!"

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Rubbing her eyes sleepily, Rapunzel held a candle in her hand as she walked through the halls of the palace. Stopping in front of the library doors, Rapunzel looked for any signs of a boy with a green tunic and a brown auburn. Sure enough, Hiccup was asleep on one of the tables, his head nested on one of the books.

Rapunzel walked over to Hiccup. She placed the candle down on the table beside Hiccup's. It was obvious that he had been up researching. Rapunzel shook Hiccup gently.

"Nightmares!" Hiccup suddenly yelled, jerking out of the chair. His hand was already at Endeavour's hilt. Seeing it was Rapunzel, Hiccup released his stance. "Sorry," he mumbled. "I've just been on edge."

"Understandable," said Rapunzel. "So, did you find anything useful?"

A big smile made it's way to Hiccup's face. "An eclipse."

"An eclipse?"

Hiccup nodded. "That's how we can get to DunBroch."

At the same time, deep down underground in the palace dungeon, a gag was suddenly heard. The jail guard had fallen asleep, and only woke up to the sound of a person crashing to the ground. Looking around, he didn't find anything suspicious and didn't move from his post. But the next morning, they found Gothel in her cell unmoving and with horrible wounds. The culprit was nowhere to be found. The only clue is the trail of black sand across the stone cold floor.

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Not much, and a lot of page breaks. Sorry if it's annoying.

Next Chapter: The Eclipse.

Preview Quotes:

"We have to go!"

"Have faith in your family"

"Toothless is waiting for me"


	6. The Eclipse

I don't think this was the best chapter...

Not very action-filled. But the action chapters are coming soon! I hope, at least.

**Chapter Six: The Eclipse**

"This is all gibberish to me," Hiccup muttered as his eyes panned around the painted ceiling of the tower. The walls were filled with colorful paintings, but they were here for only a certain section of the ceiling, which was filled with charts of the moon and stars. From Berk, Hiccup had seen countless constellations, and knew a large number of them since they were used for navigation. But he had never seen them all arranged like this.

"Well, it's not to me," said Rapunzel, looking across as well.

"I can't believe you had enough time to map out all these stars," Hiccup breathed, still in awe.

"When you think about it," Eugene began, "Rapunzel did spent eighteen years in this dinky tower. There wasn't a lot to do." The former thief didn't really mind heading back to the tower in the clearing. In fact, he was the one who tagged along. Eugene actually had faith in Hiccup's improvement and strength. But ever since Nightmares raided the palace, Eugene was worrying about Rapunzel's safety. He was hardly seen ten feet away from her.

"It was mostly checking were the 'floating lights' stars, so I charted all the stars. That included the moon. I've seen a few eclipses as well, so maybe my documentations could help us figure out the next eclipse."

"And during that eclipse you are going to cross over to DunBroch?" asked Eugene. "How are you going to do that? Disappear into thin air?"

"Actually," Hiccup began, "we have to draw the symbol of the world we're going to on the ground during the eclipse. Hypothetically speaking, it should create a portal that we can use to cross over."

"'Hypothetically' you say," Eugene muttered.

Down at the base of the tower, Max wandered aimlessly throughout the clearing. He dipped his head and drank some water from the pond several times and walked around the tower even more. There was also another horse, one that Hiccup rode in order to get to the tower. She simply waved her tail a few times and grazed. Personally, Max preferred apples.

Beside Max's saddle was a scabbard with a frying pan neatly tucked into it. Max could easily reach it with his neck. He was prepared for whatever Nightmares may come at them. It was the responsibility for the head of the palace guards to keep the Princess safe.

It had been an hour or so since they arrived at the tower, and Rapunzel even looked through some old astronomy books and every single piece of paper she had on the moon and sun that was still in the tower. Eugene and Hiccup got bored and both sat down a long time ago, each hogging their own chairs.

Out of boredom, Hiccup had begun to go over some dragon facts. It's been three months since he had been surrounded by dragons and did anything related to dragon training that he was afraid he had forgotten some facts. Now that he was relieved he still know countless facts off the top of his head, Hiccup began to doze off, his head leaned against his arm on the chair.

"I figured it out!" exclaimed Rapunzel, excitedly.

"What?" Hiccup suddenly murmured, his head shooting upright and waking up instantly. He was glad that he didn't start drooling.

"You figured out when is the next eclipse?" asked Eugene.

Rapunzel nodded. "It's too convenient to be a coincidence."

Hiccup stood up. "Why? When is it?"

"In two days."

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Maybe fate was coming together already, helping our heroes and giving some things to their advantage. But things never stay in the good light for long. Hiccup and Rapunzel once had thoughts of waiting for Jack and Merida to pick them up, since by the time the eclipse arrived, the Core Compass should be fixed by now. But they figured that it would be better get to DunBroch without wasting the Compass' power, and testing out the eclipse while they were at it.

Standing on the balcony, Hiccup tilted his head upward and looked towards the sky. The moon was nearing the sun and the eclipse would be upon them soon. Etched on the purple tinted ceramic tiles of the balcony was an image of a sword, the symbol of Clan DunBroch. Hiccup still gripped the chalk in his hand.

"Do you think this is going to work?" Rapunzel asked, quietly walking up behind him. Her black whip was securely attached to a new brown leather belt she now wore on top of her dress.

Hiccup exhaled loudly. "It has to. Toothless is waiting for me. He's been waiting for three months. It's time we got back together."

"You miss the sky, don't you?" Rapunzel's voice was soft and caring. "What is it like, flying."

A small smirk started to appear on Hiccup's face. "Exhilarating," he breathed, already imagining the wind blowing in his face. "You feel an incredible amount of freedom. It's amazing."

"I've always wondered what it was like to fly," said Rapunzel. "You think you can take me for a ride some time?"

"Why not?"

A large, yet gentle blanket of shadows started to cover the entire Kingdom of Corona as more and more of the sun's light was becoming blocked by the moon. The eclipse drew closer with every minute. And the eclipse itself won't last more than a few minutes.

At the entrance of the balcony, Rapunzel found her parents and Eugene. The princess hugged her mother and father.

"Stay safe," said her mother.

"And stay strong," the King added.

Rapunzel smiled at her parents. "I promise." Just bearing the fact of her leaving made them seem several years older. They had just been reunited a little more than half a year and now they were going to be separated again. Rapunzel didn't know what sort of battles lie ahead of her and the Defenders, but she knew that all four of them would be needed to defeat Pitch. She would have to leave her family behind for the time being.

For a moment, Rapunzel and Eugene stood facing each other, not saying anything. But Rapunzel saw it in the former thief's eyes. He was worried about her, but his gaze also had confidence that she had grown strong.

"I'll be fine, Eugene," Rapunzel reassured him. "You've seen Hiccup alone. Don't forget that Merida and Jack both have brand new techniques and improved speed and movement as well. We're much stronger than we were three months ago."

"Just come back safe," Eugene whispered. Leaning in, the couple shared a passionate kiss. Hiccup stood at the balcony, watching the whole scene unfold in front of him. He missed his father. He missed Astrid. And he missed Toothless.

_Hang in there, Hiccup _he told himself. _In a while, you can head off to DunBroch and start looking for your partner. After that, it's back into the sky._

Hiccup had actually prepared himself. He had a leather bag slung over his back, with a large metal item sticking out of it. He had spent the last two days in the forge, creating a brand new tail for Toothless, just in case the old one had seen severed. He hadn't forged anything in over three months and was glad that he still had his touch. Gobber had taught him well.

It was then that the moon had engulfed the sun entirely. The sky turned light gray. The symbol Hiccup had drawn into the ground started to glow. A bright beam of light emerged around the sketch, shooting up high directly into the sky.

"This is it," said Hiccup, turning to Rapunzel. "Time to go."

Rapunzel walked over to Hiccup, and the two teenagers stood in front of the pillar of light. Rapunzel inhaled deeply before facing her family. They all smiled at her warmly.

"I'm off," she said.

Suddenly, a black cloud emerged from behind the Royal Family and within seconds, a wave of onyx Nightmares appeared from nowhere. Pandemonium broke out without the castle hallways.

Eugene was the first to notice, drawing his sword and quickly whipping his body around. He managed to cut one of the Nightmares, but another pounced straight onto the King, knocking him to the ground. His crown tumbled from his head, slightly clattering as it fell onto the floor. His wife quickly knelt down beside him.

"Father!" Rapunzel cried. She tried to rush forward, but Hiccup quickly grabbed her arms and kept her from moving.

"Rapunzel, wait!" he yelled, struggling against her grip. "We have to go! The eclipse will be over in minutes!" Hiccup noticed that their feet was only around a meter away from the column of light, but Rapunzel was slowly pulling them away inch by inch. Hiccup found himself surprised that he was able to restrain Rapunzel, to a certain degree at least. It seemed that his sword-fighting training had improved his physical strength greatly.

Eugene quickly locked Rapunzel's gaze as he blocked one of the Nightmares from taking another step closer to the royal family. "Rapunzel, you have to go with Hiccup to DunBroch! Let us take care of the Nightmares here."

"But-" Rapunzel tried to interject.

"Have faith in your family," Hiccup hastily added.

"We'll be fine," said Eugene sternly. "Go!"

Allowing her stance to loosen, Hiccup jerked himself and Rapunzel right into the light. Instantly, all their surroundings became an instant blur. The sounds of clashing swords and galloping hooves were barely audible. Hiccup felt his heart begin to beat faster as the fear of the Nightmares coming into portal dreaded him.

Looking up, the moon was already shifting it's position. It would be mere seconds, a minute at the most, before the full eclipse was over. Hiccup realized that his body felt light, as if he was floating.

Rapunzel still stood in shock and her eyes were filled with horror as she watched the Nightmares attack her family. In a flash of light, everything disappeared right in front of her very eyes.

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Off to DunBroch!

The next chapter will be entitled "Reunion", so it's obvious what's going to be happening. Though, it's not just one reunion. ;)

Preview quotes:

"The Compass has a mind if it's own now" "Eyes full of passion." "I'm so sorry."


	7. Reunion

Okay, the last rather plain chapter before we get to the fun action bits!

**Chapter Seven: Reunion**

A sudden burst of wind and light erupted in the small witch's cottage, prompting Merida to hold her skirt down until the wind passed. "Jack!" she hissed, the breeze in her face, "is this magic wind your doing?"

"Nope," the winter spirit muttered in reply, shielding his eyes as well. "It should be just in time for the eclipse in Corona. Hiccup and Rapunzel should be on their way here."

The witch didn't even pay much attention to it. She was still working on the Compass. She sent her crow to DunBroch palace that morning to call Jack and Merida over to her workshop since it was about to be finished. Sure enough, the two Defenders had already spent half the day there.

As quickly as it began, the light died down. Standing in the middle of the damp witch's workshop was Hiccup and Rapunzel. Corona's Princess was panting heavily, and Hiccup still held her arms back. Rapunzel's breath started to slow down, and she fell onto her knees just as HIccup released his grip.

"Hiccup! Rapunzel!" exclaimed Merida. "You guys made it!" Her gaze drifted to Rapunzel, and her smile disppeared. "What happened?"

"Nightmares attacked the castle," Hiccup whispered. "Rapunzel's parents were the first hit. We barely managed to cross."

Jack sensed the tense atmosphere, and immediately tried to change it. His eyes landed on Hiccup's backpack. "Whoa, what's with all that stuff? How much luggage did you have?"

"Oh this?" Hiccup asked, gesturing to his bag. "This is all the gear I'll need to get on Toothless. A new and improved tail, some new mechanics, a securing mechanism and of course, a new saddle."

"I figured you finished your training?" Jack continued.

"We both did." Hiccup straightened himself and brightened. "Where's this witch you guys were talking about?"

"That would be me!" The old woman quickly appeared in front of Hiccup. Berk's heir was surprised and stumbled backwards slightly. The witch squinted her eyes. Pushing herself onto her tiptoes, she moved towards Hiccup's face. "Eyes full of passion..." she began, taking a step back.

"What?" Hiccup murmured.

"Passionate emerald green eyes," said the witch. "They're the spitting image of the eyes Grimbeard the Ghastly. I can see that his spirit lives in you."

"Told you you're Grimbeard's heir," Jack jeered from behind. He turned to the witch. "How's the Compass coming?"

"I'm going to get it right now, laddie," the Witch sang as she disappeared into the depths of the workshop, leaving the Defenders. Merida had helped Rapunzel to her feet. "You alright?" Merida asked.

Rapunzel simply nodded in reply.

Securing his backpack, Hiccup walked past his friends and towards the wooden door. Jack looked at his teammate curiously. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to go look for Toothless," Hiccup replied nonchalantly. "I won't get lost. Probably."

"Want me to go with you?" Merida asked. "How else are you going to find Toothless in such a large forest?"

Hiccup grinned. "I have my ways." With that, Hiccup walked out the door, and the others Defenders filed out after him. Hiccup cleared his throat. Cupping his hands together, a loud roar suddenly came out of Hiccup's lips. The sound came out high pitched in his voice, but as it echoed throughout the forest, it became lower and started to sound like the bellow of a dangerous beast.

It caught his friends off guard, and many of them abruptly brought their hands up to cover their ears. Hiccup stopped a few seconds later, and he cleared his throat again. "Darn, that wasn't really authentic."

"What was that?" Rapunzel asked.

"Where you trying to blow off my ears?" Merida hissed simultaneously.

"Really," said Jack, "what was that?"

After smirking for a moment, Hiccup answered his friends. "A Night Fury call."

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Toothless was proud of himself.

Who said a downed dragon was a dead dragon? For the past few days, Toothless had been able to survive on his own. The river with the jumping salmon was actually a lifesaver. All he had to do was stand there with a mouth open and he would get instant meals when a fish would randomly leap into it.

In fact, he was standing at that very creek right now, hoping to get a bite to eat. But something had caught him off guard. It was a loud roar, and it sounded like it came from a dragon. But Toothless would've known that roar anywhere. It was a Night Fury roar.

And there was only one other thing who could make a roar like that: his best friend and rider.

Immediately abandoning the catch, the Night Fury turned and darted into the woods. Hidden in the trees, Toothless opened his mouth and cried out into the sky. Sure enough, his ears pricked up as soon as he heard a response. It was coming to the right. Toothless quickly ran through the forest as fast as his could carry him.

In front of him, Toothless noticed a small wooden house. Standing in front of it were four people. He recognized them all, but most notably the skinny boy with the auburn hair in the middle. His tongue started to dangle out in excitement as he ran closer.

Joy pounded inside Hiccup's chest. Seeing his dragon in front of him, active and healthy. He couldn't ask for anything else. Before he knew it, Hiccup dumped his backpack onto the ground and sprinted forward and held his arms right open.

"Toothless!" he started to call, but the air and voice was knocked right out of his lungs as Toothless smashed into him. Hiccup's back was sent onto the floor as a large and wet dragon tongue licked his face. Laughter bursted from Hiccup, but he couldn't care less. Carefully sitting up, Hiccup wrapped his arms around his dragon's neck.

"I'm so sorry, bud," Hiccup whispered, only to be met with another lick. Hiccup chuckled. Looking at Toothless, Hiccup realized that his dragon seemed more fit. "Looks like you had an enduring three months," Hiccup commented. Standing up, Hiccup continued to hug Toothless.

Behind them, the Defenders still stood in awe.

"The dragon actually came," muttered Merida.

"The call actually works," added Jack.

"It's a cute scene," said Rapunzel.

Toothless' nose suddenly moved to start sniffing the backpack as the dragon moved closer. He looked at Hiccup with an excited gleam in his eye and started to move his tail. Hiccup grinned. "You've got the right idea, bud."

Getting the backpack, Hiccup quickly started getting the new gear onto the dragon. All of the previous mechanisms had been taken away, so Toothless had missed the feeling of a saddle on him. As Hiccup secured the new silver prosthetic tail, Jack noticed there was something on it. "What's that pattern?" he asked.

Merida took a closer look. "Now that you mention it, there's something drawn on it."

"It looks like four separate symbols. A snowflake, a dragon, a bow and the sun," said Rapunzel.

"One for each of us," Hiccup replied. "This is a tail made specially for the Defenders of Realms. It's a little small, but it's still there. And Toothless is technically a member isn't he?"

"Definitely," said Jack. "That reminds me, Rapunzel, what happened to Pascal?"

"Oh, I left him back in Corona," Rapunzel answered. "I thought it was a little dangerous for Pascal to be coming with me on this journey, so I left him. I actually had to lock him up in a cage. I hope he doesn't feel too bad about it." The Princess was silent for a moment. "Maybe it would've been better to take him along."

"You do what's best for your best friend," Hiccup interjected. "Whether they like it or not, if you're doing it for their sake, you do it." He gave Rapunzel a reassuring grin. "I understand it."

Hiccup peered over his friend's shoulders, and noticed that the Witch was standing there and holding the golden Core Compass in her hands. Jack turned around and walked over to her. "It's done?"

"Yes," said the Witch, "but it kind of has a mind of it's own now."

"A mind of it's own?" Merida repeated, confused.

The witch was unsure of what to answer. "It's like it chooses the world you travel to, and it's no longer a decision you kids make. Call it Fate's guidance."

"Fate," Hiccup muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes. Ignoring Hiccup's comment, Jack took the Compass from the Witch's hands. He pressed the button and the lid clicked open. "Wow, our destination really is decided for us."

"Where are we going?" asked Rapunzel.

Jack had a bright smile on his face as he gestured for his friends to come closer. Merida and Rapunzel were already beside him. Hiccup quickly finished inserting the connecting rod and walked over. The witch took a step back.

As the gang gathered together, a light started to engulf them. Jack clenched the Compass in his hands. "We're going to my place. My world."

––––––––––––––––––––––

North was confused when he saw a bunch of teenagers suddenly appear on the Guardian's plaque. But as soon as he saw the white hair of a fellow Guardian, North called off the yetis. He pulled the winter spirit from the group and gave him a meaty pat on the back. "Jack! Good to see you! It's been three months, has it not? How have you been?"

"I'm fine," Jack answered.

North's gaze landed on the teenagers. "These are your teammates?"

"That's them."

Walking closer, North first went to Merida. "Fierce. Headstrong. Red-headed. You're from the Third World. DunBroch if I'm not mistaken." North noticed her bow. "A master at archery." He moved onto Rapunzel. "Sweet, gracious, mature. The heart of the group. Extra points for combat skills." North turned back to Jack. "You have good taste, Jack."

The winter spirit cleared his throat. "North, I think you're forgetting someone."

The old man smiled. "Not really." He turned to Hiccup, and ignored the fact that Toothless was sniffing his legs. "Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third. Descendant of Grimbeard the Ghastly." North inspected the boy in front of him. "Skinny, scrawny, a little on the short side."

Seeing the wary expression Hiccup wore, Jack thought back to when Pitch taunted them three months ago. And that they had also made fun of Hiccup's physique in front of him. Maybe if they didn't, things would have turned out differently. Jack sighed. What's done is done. They have to make the most of the present.

"However..." North went on, "filled of kindness, hope and potential." He held out his hand. "Nice to meet you."

Hiccup shook the hand in return. But there was something about North's movements that seemed slightly tense. His instincts bugged him. A yeti, who Jack identified was Phil, walked up behind North.

The Guardian let out a battle cry as he suddenly lunged forward, sword in hand. Hiccup neatly jumped back. Grinning, North pushed the blade forward. Hiccup easily clapped it in his hands, stopping it entirely.

"Not to mention, great reflexes and strong," North finished, pulling the sword back. "Jack, I think this is the finest and strongest team of Defenders the Worlds have ever had. I knew you could do it."

"Really?" said Jack. "There were just the first people I ran into."

"It is destiny," said North.

"I'm getting sick of all this fate and destiny stuff," muttered Merida, placing her hands on her hips. "We're supposed to be hunting Pitch in order to defeat him. The Compass took us here."

"The question is why," Rapunzel added. North's eyes darkened as they drifted to the large globe in the center of the building. Jack followed North's gaze, and he felt fear inside of him. It seemed that the lights were flickering. Jack quickly corrected himself. Not lights. _Light. _And it's location made his heart sink into the ground.

"Burgess," North breathed. "It's in trouble."

Jack's eyes suddenly widened in realization. _Jamie._

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Initially, I was going to have Toothless run into Pitch or one of the antagonists, but I couldn't really figure out how to have the Nightmares make a Night Fury call, so I scratched that idea. That, and I think he and Hiccup had been separated for long enough. ;)

Action begins in the next Chapter: Burgess Crisis

Preview Quotes: "Don't touch my friends." "This is my home." "Let's have a little fun."


	8. Burgess Crisis

I so sorry it took so long to update! It feels good to be back writing on the computer. I was admitted into the hospital for a week due to having Dengue Fever. Anyway, I have returned, and I've been itching to write!

It seems that this story is reaching it's climax...I guess you can say that. But keep in mind that it's a three-part story. And this is merely part two. And remember that Berk has been taken over by Alvin in the Second World while Hiccup has been off with the Defenders.

Well, enough about up-coming stuff. Let's just go with chapter 8 for now.

**Chapter Eight: Burgess Crisis**

"**Everyone to the sleigh!" North declared loudly. Without even waiting, Jack followed his mentor down to the stables. The Elves and Yetis were running around frantically, trying to prepare the reindeers for the upcoming journey. Phil was having some trouble pulling the creatures out. **

"What about Sandy, and Bunny and Tooth?" Jack asked hastily. "Won't we all be meeting at the North Pole?"

"There's no time for that," North boomed. "If Pitch is attacking, we have to get to Burgess now. Sandy and Tooth move fast and Bunny, well, you know he's fond of his tunnels. They will meet us over there."

Jack couldn't help but shrug in reply.

Behind Jack trailed Merida and Rapunzel who were a hard time dodging all the commotion. They hadn't spoke much since arriving at the North Pole, especially after now that the workshop has gone crazy preparing for the upcoming departure. Hiccup was at the back of the pack with Toothless, who was beginning to find the elves clamoring around him rather annoying.

As a pair of large wooden doors opened up, a bunch of yetis appeared, pulling a large colored sleigh. It's seats rolled into place. North grabbed his russian hat and hauled himself onto the sleigh, helping himself onto the reins.

"Are we really going to ride that?" asked Merida with doubt in her voice.

"It seems fun," added Rapunzel, following Jack's lead as she climbed onboard. Groaning, Merida got on as well.

Jack turned to look at Hiccup, who was the only one still not ready to go. "It's safer than it looks," said the Winter Spirit.

"I've seen more rickety things from Berk," said Hiccup. "But personally, I've been itching to fly." Hiccup turned to North. "That is, if you don't mind."

"Of course I don't," the Guardian answered. "Just make sure you can keep up." North snapped the reins. Some of the reindeer kicked widely into the air, forcing the yetis to clear the path as they broke into a high speed run. Within seconds, they disappeared into the icy tunnel ahead.

"They're pretty fast," Hiccup commented as he threw his legs over Toothless' back. His metal prosthetic clicked into the stirrup. He moved his foot slightly, and the dragon's prosthetic tail moved accordingly. "Alright Toothless," Hiccup began. "Let's show those reindeer what you've-"

Hiccup was abruptly cut off when Toothless pounced forward, dashing through the ice right behind North's sleigh.

"-goooot!" Hiccup hollered as his dragon sped through the caves. The boy's scream echoed in the caverns, all the way to the Defenders and North in front of them. Jack and Merida turned around to see Toothless chasing after them, with Hiccup clinging desperately on the saddle.

"Looks like that dragon got faster too," said Merida.

"Seems like Hiccup is having a good time," Jack added.

Already feeling the wind in his face moving at high speeds, Hiccup started to feel giddy. Toothless' legs moved by like a flurry. He hopped across the ice, his talons gripping the slightly slippery walls. He was glad he had practiced on the smooth mossy stones of DunBroch and Berk. The sleigh rolled along the cavern walls as it looped around in a circle. Hiccup felt his hair dangle in the small moments Toothless mimicked the swirling motion. In the distance, the bright light of the sky could be seen.

"Well, bud?" asked Hiccup, gripping the saddle tighter. "Was that enough of a warm up?"

The Night Fury simply snorted. The reindeers leaped into the air. Merida quickly threw her arms around the side of the sleigh, holding onto them. Rapunzel looked around as the ice caves gave way to bright blue skies. Jack hopped onto the wooden frame, staff in hand. His eyes landed on the cave's exit that grew smaller and smaller with each passing moment.

"Hold on a second," he said, catching the attention of his teammates. "Where's Hiccup?"

An ear splitting roar cut through the skies as a flurry of black suddenly flew overhead Jack and the others. A wave of wind rushed by quickly, startling the reindeers and pulling Merida's hair. She brushed the locks away from her face. "Found him."

"Whoo!" Hiccup whooped as Toothless corkscrewed past North and the sleigh. Looking back, he saw the old Guardian reposition his hat.

"Show off," North grumbled playfully. "Much like old Grimbeard!"

Hiccup adjusted the angle of the stirrup. As it clicked, Toothless gained a sudden burst of speed. Peering over the dragon's back, Hiccup looked down towards the ground. "Wanna go for a dive, bud?"

"Do that later!" Jack called from the sleigh. "Right now, we have somewhere to go."

"You're no fun," Hiccup muttered as he pulled Toothless towards the rest of his teammates. North fished around his pockets and brought out a snow globe. He lifted it up in front of his lips.

"Burgess," he whispered into it. Pulling back his arm, North threw the globe into the air. It opened up a portal. Snapping the reins, North directed the sleigh into gateway. Hiccup and Toothless were close behind.

There was a flash of light and the group was no longer surrounded by open skies. Buildings suddenly appeared beside them. Large gray and light yellow cement structures decorated the floor. The road led forward into the city.

"What are these houses?" breathed Merida. "What are they made of?"

"I've never seen anything like them," said Rapunzel.

"So this is Jack's world," added Hiccup in wonder. A part of him was tempted to take out his sketchbook and started drawing everything in sight. But they had much more important matters.

Jack's eyes scanned the city for anything that seems out of place. And the first thing he noticed was the lack of people on the streets. There were barely any cars in sight and not a single person was walking on the sidewalks. Jack furrowed his eyebrows. "Where is everyone?"

The sleigh skidded onto the roads. North pulled the reins, directing the to the right at the following intersection. Hiccup and Toothless had flown in front of them. The boy and dragon hovered in the air for a moment at the sight in front of them.

Merida and Rapunzel stared in shock. North's eyes widened and Jack was utterly speechless.

This part of the town was a complete mess. Roads were cracked, electrical wires ripped, cars turned over. The buildings had giant gaping holes. For Jack, it was staring right at a scene from hell.

"This is...my home...?" he whispered. "What happened?" But he knew that the answer was written all over: black sand. It was all across the streets, decorating entire sidewalks and sitting at the corner of buildings. He knew what happened. But what Jack wanted to know was _what happened_.

"Look!" exclaimed Rapunzel, pointing her finger forward. There was a small movement in the distance. A smudge of shimmering gold moving across one of the rooftops. Jack immediately leaped into the air, heading straight towards the target.

"Let's go, bud," Hiccup whispered to Toothless as the two of them followed Jack. Merida and Rapunzel hopped off the sleigh with North. The Guardian unsheathed his blades. He took careful steps as he walked along the streets. Merida brought out an arrow and loaded her bow. Rapunzel hands were wrapped around the handle of her whip as she kept her eyes on Jack and Hiccup.

She looked at the rooftops curiously. "Maybe someone's there who needs help." Swinging her whip forward, Rapunzel grabbed one of the lampposts, hoping it would hold her weight. Using a new function Hiccup added, she pulled on a small trigger at the edge of her handle and the whip pulled her up onto the lamp.

Merida watched from the road. "How come Hiccup was the one who gives you all the cool gear?" But Corona's princess ignored her.

When Jack landed, the fear of losing a teammate dreaded over him once again. In front of him, was the Sandman lying on the ground. Trails of golden sand were spread out across the rooftop. The small man was barely breathing.

"Sandy!" Jack cried, quickly rushing over. Hiccup and Toothless touched down. Berk's heir flung his legs off Toothless and got onto the roof. "What's going on?" he asked.

"It's one of the Guardians," Jack hastily replied. Placing a hand on Sandy's back, Jack tried to support him. "Sandy, what happened?"

Sandy barely managed to form some sand over his head, but Jack could make out the shape of a horse in the image.

"Jack!" Hiccup called, walking over to the edge of the building. "There's more."

Carefully, Jack set Sandy back down onto the ground. The Winter Spirit stepped up beside Hiccup and glanced across the rooftops. He saw two more familiar figures. A large rabbit, and a human-bird hybrid.

"Bunny! Tooth!" he cried. Jack leaped across the roofs, landing beside Bunnymund. The Easter Bunny coughed as he propped himself onto his arms. "You're late, mate," he said in his Australian accent.

"What happened?" Jack asked. Though inside his mind, he had asked the same question at least a dozen times already.

"It was the Nightmares," Tooth squeaked out. "They attacked in such numbers."

"We took care of a lot of them," said Bunny. "But there were still more." He tried to move, but pain shot through him. Hiccup read the situation as he bit his lip. "Rapunzel!"

"Right here," the Princess chimed as she hauled herself onto the roof. She held in a gasp as soon as she saw the wounds of the Guardians. Jack sighed heavily. "Can you heal them?"

"I'll try," said Rapunzel as she knelt down beside Bunny who was the closest to her.

"No!" the warrior suddenly snapped. "Don't worry about us. You have to save Pitch's target!"

"Target?" Jack repeated. His eyes suddenly dilated as the sense of epiphany dawned on him. Picking up his staff, Jack lifted off into the air.

"Jack, wait!" Hiccup called, but the winter spirit was already gone. "Darn it, he never waits for us." Turning to Rapunzel, Hiccup gestured for her to get on Toothless. As Rapunzel climbed aboard, Hiccup locked his metal foot and Toothless took off down onto the street. As the dragon sped through, Rapunzel reached out a hand and grabbed an unsuspecting Merida and pulled her onto the dragon. There were small shouts from North as he cried out to the teenagers in the small seconds before they disappeared.

In the distance, Hiccup was barely able to make out Jack's figure. Toothless followed Jack through the streets and roads of Burgess.

Jack couldn't remember the last time he felt so angry. On second thought, maybe he could. Back at the clearing when Pitch threatened them and nearly killed Hiccup. At the edge of his vision, Jack caught glimpse of a house.

Jamie's house.

At the porch, there was a large black Nightmare. It's hoof pinned a small boy to the ground. Growling, Jack swung his staff and launched a sudden icicle. The Nightmare was caught off guard as a blue iced blade pierced it's body. It screeched and fell to the ground, turning into dust. The young boy got up and caught sight of the winter spirit.

"Jack!" he shouted in relief.

"Jamie!"

Jamie ran towards the winter spirit, throwing his arms around Jack's waist. Hugging Jamie back, Jack shot the fallen Nightmare a deadly glare. "Don't touch my friend."

Toothless came running up and the other Defenders hopped off the dragon. Jamie was slightly surprised, but he wasn't scared to approach Toothless. "Is that a dragon?" he asked, enthusiastically.

"Yep," said Jack.

"I knew they were real!" the young boy said happily, jumping from excitement. Hiccup grinned, but the smile was soon wiped off his face when a cloud of black dust started to gather around them. Slowly, Merida, Rapunzel, Hiccup and Jack got in a circle, their backs facing each other. Jamie found himself in the middle of all the teenagers. From the shadows, clusters of Nightmares began to form.

"That Pitch is a coward," Merida scoffed. "He's not showing himself." She took another arrow out and loaded her bow for two simultaneous shots.

"But this is already quite the amount of Nightmares," said Rapunzel, lashing her whip out at the snow. Toothless growled as Hiccup drew out his sword. "Guess this is a good time to show Pitch what we can do."

Jack pointed his staff forward as he noticed his friends becoming elated. A smirk appeared on his face as the Nightmares moved closer. "Alright guys," he began playfully. "Let's have a little fun."

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Hmm...I think my skill dropped a little bit after not writing for over a week. Up next is Chapter Nine: Results of Training, so it's time for some Nightmare butt-kicking.

Preview Quotes: "Three months can do this much to a guy?" "This is how the new me fights!" "I will make sure you are nothing but ashes."


	9. Results of Training

Reason of absence: school. I am not enjoying ninth grade...End of discussion.

To the story!

**Chapter Nine: Results of Training **

Alvin sat with his feet on the table, plucking a drumstick from a dish and took a meaty bite into the crispy flesh. Swallowing, Alvin turned to the other man at the table: a being of darkness draped in black ropes.

"Aren't you going to go deal with the brats yourself, Pitch?" asked Alvin. "It would be a good chance to get rid of them now."

Pitch gave Alvin a small smirk. "I'm sure my Nightmares in massive numbers at full power should be able to take them on. And the feeling of hopelessness here on Berk truly is magnificent. I thank you, Alvin, for burning this village to the ground."

"This is just the beginning," Alvin cooed. "I will spread my armies across the entire Barbaric Archipelago, and I _will_ become King of the Wilderwest!"

"You are of Grimbeard's descendant?"

"Yes, I'm his great-grandson. But I came down from the treacherous side - Grimbeard's power hungry son: Thugheart. That Hiccup on the other hand…" Alvin spat onto the cold stone floor. "He and his father are descendants of Grimbeard's second son, Chucklehead. Destiny has it that one of us will rise and inherit Grimbeard's title as King of the Wilderwest."

"You know," Pitch purred, "I was there when Grimbeard killed his second son."

"Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Second?" said Alvin. "Really? Well, then it must have been a sight to behold."

Pitch's cackle echoed in the Great Hall. "Ah, that despair was sweet. Now let's focus on the present. We'll wait for my Nightmares to deliver the news of the battle in Burgess in the First World."

"Until then, we feast!" Alvin suggested before he chugged down a mug of beer.

––––––––––––––––––––––––

Hiccup's sudden sneeze ruined everyone's mood.

"What's the deal, Hiccup?" asked an annoyed Merida. "We are about to go into battle, and you sneeze?"

Hiccup sniffled, rubbing his nose with his sleeve. "Sorry. I think someone was talking about me behind my back."

"Guys, we should really focus here," Rapunzel murmured. The Nightmares started to encircle them, inching in closer and closer, attempting to box in our heroes. Jack shifted the position of his staff. "Go wild on three, guys."

"One…" Merida began as she started to aim her bow.

"Two…" Rapunzel swung her whip back. Jack was about to open his mouth and end the countdown, but someone else had beaten him to it.

"Three!" Hiccup quickly yelled. He shot forward, matching the movements of one of the Nightmares that came out to greet him. Letting out a battle cry, Hiccup swung his sword. There was a hiss as the Nightmare dispersed into dust.

Finding himself already a little too close to the Nightmare Army, three more launched themselves at Hiccup. He leaped nimbly into the air, landing on the backs of one of the Nightmares.

The other two sprung at him. Hiccup lunged once, slicing both of them with a single slash. The Nightmare below him whinnied, and Hiccup jabbed his blade into it's back. He landed on his feet as the Nightmare dissolved.

Behind him, his friends-Toothless included-watched in awe.

"Three months can do this much to a guy?" Jack breathed. Merida and Rapunzel simply bobbed their heads in return.

"This is how the new me fights!" Hiccup shouted proudly, raising his sword into the air. "Toothless!"

The dragon immediately went to his rider's side. Using his prosthetic tail as a blade, Toothless slashed and defeated several Nightmares as Hiccup buckled himself onto the saddle. "Alright, bud," he whispered. "Let's fly."

Toothless let out a roar as he pounced into the sky. The duo curved in the air for a moment before diving back down. A giant blast of fire landed a direct hit straight in the middle of the armada of Nightmares.

Jack snapped himself out of his impressed state. "It's time we went all out too." Jack twirled his staff in his hand before slamming it's tip onto the ground. An angry gale erupted from him, striking the first layer of Nightmares.

"Whoa!" cheered Jamie, jumping in excitement.

"That's nothing," said Jack. Swapping hands, Jack waved his staff in an arc in front of him. The charging Nightmares began to change color, earning a tint of light blue. Their movements started to still as pieces of frost caught on to them. Within seconds, the Nightmares became statues.

"Awesome!" said Jamie. Behind him, Merida smirked. "Come on, it's not like we haven't improved, Jack."

Rapunzel had her whip wrapped across the stomach of one the Nightmares. She pulled on the trigger, pulling it forward and rammed it straight into another Nightmare in it's path. Both turned to dust. In the corner of her eye, Rapunzel caught a glimpse of one of the creatures sneaking up behind Merida, who was facing another direction.

"Merida, watch out!"

The Nightmare started to raise it's front legs, preparing to strike. Merida had just turned around. She quickly loaded her bow, moving backwards a few steps. Just as the Nightmare brought it's crushing hooves down, a black whip seized them tightly together. The Nightmare froze for a moment, and Merida allowed her arrow to fly. It pierced the chest of the dark horse.

"Thanks, Rapunzel," Merida breathed. "It's a shame that I already had to be saved." As she said this, Merida reached for another arrow. She quickly fired. Rapunzel felt the shot whizz by her ear, and went straight through a column of Nightmares behind her.

"Now we're even."

Jack watched his teammates and laughed. He turned his back on Jamie for just a moment, shooting several beams of ice from the tip of his staff as if it were a pistol.

There was a sudden yelp. "Jack!"

A Nightmare had slipped past the Defenders, and snatched Jamie by his shirt collar. The beast galloped into the air just as Jack noticed what had happened.

"Jamie!" An icicle materialized beside the Winter Spirit. Grunting in anger, Jack launched the sharp shard of ice at the Nightmare. It neatly pulled itself out of harm's way, and the ice missed Jamie by a hair.

Merida and Rapunzel stood back to back. The archer grabbed three arrows at once and fire. Three shots buried themselves into three rows of Nightmares, each going through five. Fifteen Nightmares turned into dust.

Rapunzel lashed out at several, and slammed many more together. Panting, she pressed her back against Merida's. "They just keep coming!"

"They can overwhelm us in numbers, but we've got stamina," said Merida. "We should be able to get rid of all of them."

Jack's eyes were still on Jamie. He was about to leap into the air when his chest was forced onto the ground. The staff fell from his hands and skidded just out of his reach. Gritting his teeth, Jack shot his arms above him, his fingers wrapping around the rough leg of a Nightmare. Jack pulled hard, dragging the Nightmare above his head and away from his body. He struck the creature onto the road and it dissolved on impact.

Jack grabbed his staff and spun around. A wave of Nightmares came at him. He lifted up the staff, a wall of snow shooting up from the ground. It rumbled as the Nightmares crashed into them.

Lashing out his arm, Jack commanded the wall to disperse. Each flake turned to solid ice, and a barrage of icicles rained upon the Nightmares like a massive hail storm. Many of them fell, but some survived. One catapulted onto Jack. He held his staff in front of him, and managed to keep the Nightmare back, the tip of it's hoof centimeters from the tip of his nose.

There was no way he could go after Jamie. He had no idea where his right hand was, but he had to have faith that he was going to hear him. "Hiccup!" Jack roared. "Take care of Jamie!"

Up high in the skies above Burgess, Hiccup's eyes suddenly dilated. The distant calls of his teammate made it to him. Hiccup swung his sword a few more times, finishing the Nightmares in the sky. He gripped Toothless' saddle, and the two took a steep dive.

They whooshed past one of the Nightmares. The sound of a screaming Jamie caught Hiccup's attention. "That one."

Toothless fired a blast. The Nightmare released it's hold on Jamie as it fell to the ground, leaving the boy hurtling towards the earth below.

Jamie had faced Pitch and the Nightmares before, but they were no where as near as violent and crazy at this. He thought he was going to die, when he landed on something quite hard. It wasn't rock hard, but still hard.

Opening his eyes, the boy realized that he was riding on the back of a dragon. Hiccup turned to face Jamie, the wind howling on top of his voice.

"Are you okay?"

Jamie flashed a cheerful grin. "I'm riding on the back of a dragon!"

Hiccup couldn't help but laugh in return. "Alright, hang on to something."

Jamie grabbed the saddle and watched in amazement as Hiccup slowly got up on his saddle. His sword was raised. A group of Nightmares ran towards him. Carefully keeping his balance, Hiccup thought of the time he was on Max, trying to stand upright on his saddle. It really did feel much better on the back of a dragon.

Thrusting his sword forward, Hiccup fought against the Nightmares in mid-air, slicing them away. Black dust descended onto the ground below them. Toothless shot more blasts, quickly emptying his shot limit. But that was enough. Hiccup was feeling so excited, that he didn't notice that the number of Nightmares in the sky had diminished.

Wheezing, Hiccup slumped back down onto Toothless' back. Facing Jamie, Hiccup said, "Let's get back to the others."

The clouds around them cleared away as Toothless flew down towards Burgess. To Hiccup astonishment, there wasn't a single Nightmare left in sight in the city. Toothless landed in front of Jamie's house, and the boy hopped off the dragon, rushing to hug Jack. The winter spirit hugged Jamie back in return.

"Wow," said Hiccup, sarcasm returning in his voice. "You guys actually defeated all of the Nightmares."

"It took a while," murmured Rapunzel, still in a bright mood. "But we managed."

Jack rustled Jamie's hair. "You had one heck of an afternoon, didn't you?"

"You bet I did."

Down the street, North walked towards the Defenders and Jamie, with one of Bunnymund's arms slung over his shoulder. Tooth and Sandy limped along the road. North was caught off guard by the scene in front of him. Not that the other Guardians were in a different state.

"Crikey," uttered Bunnymund. "What happened here?"

"We defeated the Nightmares," said Merida, in a very matter-of-fact tone.

"All of them?" asked Tooth.

"Yep," Hiccup muttered in response.

North's mouth was slightly agape. "Jack, what had you four been doing for the past three months?"

Jack simply laughed wholeheartedly. "Getting ready to fight Pitch. And this army of Nightmares made a good warm up." He took a deep refreshing breath in. "Ah, I can't wait to see the look on Pitch's face when he sees how much we totally obliterated his minions."

North couldn't help but begin to chuckle as well. Everyone else started laughing as the mood lightened.

Hiccup's instincts suddenly became tense once again. In the edge of his vision, he noticed a lone Nightmare staggering to it's feet. Glancing a quick look at his teammates, Hiccup backed away. He reached out and grabbed the Nightmare.

"Hold it right there."

The creature let out a snort of surprise. Hiccup refused to let go. "I have a little message for your master's little helper, Alvin." Hiccup's gaze became serious. "Remember it word for word. 'If I see that you even laid a single scratch on Berk… I will make sure you are nothing but ashes.'"

Hiccup released the Nightmare, and it turned into a stream of black sand before disappearing. Hiccup felt the gaze of his friends on him. They had worried looks.

"Was that…" Rapunzel began, slightly scared to ask. "… your dark side again?"

"No," Hiccup replied nonchalantly. "Just my attempt at a threat."

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Admittedly, this was probably one of my more innovative fight sequences. This is probably because I can finally leave what the movies of the Big Four have shown us, and do things from my imagination. And Jack ended up _really_ strong.

The next chapter will be the last of this installment, then it's onto part three!

Preview Quotes: "You're the next King of the Wilderwest." "Screw destiny." "Let's begin our counterstrike."


	10. Calm Before the Storm

Finally, I've reached the last chapter of Part two! A guest reader asked about what was "Hiccup's dark side" talking about, and it was just a small callback to the first part of the story, _The Gathering_.

**Chapter Ten: Calm Before the Storm**

"No," Hiccup point-blanked as he walked through North's workshop, heading to his room.

"Come on," Merida pleaded as she walked behind him. "Just this once."

"No," Berk's heir replied again.

"Why not?" Jack asked. He tried to get ahead of Hiccup, but the boy simply stepped away. "It's a great idea!"

"Guys, no means no."

"Hiccup, you do realize you're turning down a duel between both Merida and me."

Hiccup stopped walking and turned to face his friends. He held out his arms in emphasis as he said, "There, that's it. Right there. You _and_ Merida. You just want to kick my butt for no apparent reason."

"Actually, it's more of to test your skills," replied Jack. "But it sounds more fun when you put it that way."

Hiccup let out an aspirated groan before pushing the door to his room open. "You saw what I did during the battle with the Nightmares and that's enough." He paused. "And I want some rest." Before Jack and Merida had a chance to say anything, he slammed his door shut.

"You think he's scared?" Merida smirked.

Jack wiped the enthusiastic grin of his face. "I think I know what he's thinking about." The winter spirit turned away from the door. "Come on," he said, gesturing his head. "We should give him some time."

Merida glanced a look at Hiccup room for a moment before quietly following Jack. She quickly caught up to him. "You think he's thinking?"

Jack simply nodded. "Hiccup has it much harder than the rest of us. He should have some time alone to think about it."

As Merida and Jack walked away, Hiccup had his ears pressed to his door. Upon hearing silence outside, he sighed. Hiccup slid his back against the wall, sitting down onto the floor. Toothless lifted his head up from the other end of the room.

Hiccup dragged himself to his feet before getting up. He allowed himself to flop onto the soft mattress, slightly sinking into the bed. His eyes stared at the ceiling for a moment as thoughts whirled around his head. Toothless trotted over to Hiccup, nudging his rider's arms. Hiccup chuckled softly.

"Thanks, buddy," he said. "But I don't think that makes the situation any better."

Sitting up, Hiccup narrowed his eyebrows. He walked over the desk beside his bed and picked up the small leather book.

Grimbeard's memoirs. A present from his great-great-grandfather kept in the kingdom of DunBroch for three hundred years. Hiccup was given this book and his sword, Endeavour, when he first spent the night at DunBroch's castle, just after meeting Merida.

Flipping through the pages, Hiccup read through it's contents once again. How Grimbeard ruled the islands. How he had three sons. How one of them fell to the darkness. How Grimbeard regretted killing his youngest son. And how he renamed himself as Hamish the First, becoming one of the richest and most successful chief in the history of Berk.

How could Hiccup hope to live up to the achievements of that viking?

Almost a year ago he ended the dreaded war between the humans and the dragons. In the past few months, and proven with his battle with the Nightmares, Hiccup had become an expert swordsman, following in the footsteps of Grimbeard the Ghastly.

"Following his footsteps, huh?" Hiccup murmured aimlessly.

There was a hard knock on the door. Hiccup grumbled in annoyance. "Jack, Merida, I told the two of you-"

North suddenly peered his head in, looking suspiciously at Hiccup. The young boy sucked in his lips. The old Guardian raised his eyebrows questioningly. "May I come in?"

"Uh, sure," Hiccup replied rather nervously. North stepped in, the door clicking shut behind him. Hiccup scooted over on the bed, making enough space for North to sit down. There was a moment in which the two sat in silence. With sweating palms, Hiccup twiddled his thumbs to calm his nerves.

North cleared his throat. "You're thinking that you might be his heir, aren't you? The heir to Grimbeard the Ghastly."

"How did you know?"

A wise grin appeared on North's lips. "Jack knows you pretty well."

Hiccup forced out a dry laugh. "He is team leader." His face evolved into one of worry. "I can't do it. It's too much responsibility. I don't… I don't think I'm ready."

"You are," Jack's voice suddenly said. Looking up at the door, Hiccup noticed that the other three of his teammates stood leaning on the doorframe. North smiled at the teenagers.

"You're worried for nothing," said Rapunzel. "You proved your fighting ability. You proved your teamwork. You lead a dragon training academy. You've got the skills, Hiccup, what are you so anxious about?"

"Commanding a group of five other teenagers and their dragons is one thing. Having power over dozens of islands and thousands of people is on a completely different scale. I have enough on my shoulders as the chief of Berk."

"You were the one who closed the ridge between humans and dragons," Merida added. "You can patch the small gaps between the different tribes."

"Think of it this way," Jack began, stepping in front of the others. "If you don't rise up, Alvin will. Your home, and everyone you love will end up living in hopeless despair for the rest of your life."

"There's my dad," said Hiccup. "He's an heir to Grimbeard the Ghastly too, especially the bloodline."

"Grimbeard's Memoirs referred to you," said Merida. "It has to be you, Hiccup, and no one else."

Jack nodded. "You're the next King of the Wilderwest."

"You really think so?" Hiccup asked.

"We know so," Rapunzel reassured.

"It is destiny," said North.

Hiccup had a sarcastic expression on his face. "Screw destiny."

Everyone in the room laughed at his. Hiccup found courage and determination welling inside of him. They all believed that he was going to become King of the Wilderwest, the King of the Vikings of the Barbaric Archipelago. Hiccup's gaze settled onto Toothless, slowly drifted towards his sword.

There was no way he was going to let them down.

"Alright guys," he said, standing up. "It's about time we head back to Berk."

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The Nightmare lurched backwards in fear as a mug filled with beer slammed into the rock wall behind it, falling to pieces. Pitch roared as he threw another at an attempt to hit the Nightmare. The creature whinnied before running off and disappearing into the sky.

The dark spirit took a deep breath in, trying to control his anger. "I can't believe they defeated the Nightmares. They've gotten much stronger."

"It's that Hiccup boy I'm worried about," said Alvin. "His message."

"'If I see that you even laid a single scratch on Berk… I will make sure you are nothing but ashes', isn't it?" Pitch scoffed. "Sounds more like he's picking a fight with you."

"Of course he is," said Alvin. "Only one of us will be able to rise and become King of the Wilderwest. The boy's returning. And soon."

"We'll be ready for him. All of them. And I can finally extract my vengeance on Jack Frost. I'll grind him into shaved ice."

"As for their little friends," began Alvin. "A life time of imprisonment? An execution?"

"Just seeing Jack's expression would be a priceless reward for me." Pitch chuckled sinisterly. "With me at full power, there is no way that little Guardian has any hope to defeating me."

"And I am the leader of the Outcasts, a renowned warrior who has even brought the mighty Isle of Berk to it's knees! I'll defeat the boy and deliver his remains to Stoick."

Regaining their confidence, the two men gave a toast to their upcoming victory in the ultimate battle between good and evil. However, both had failed to notice a figure.

He was hidden in the shadows of the Great Hall's large doors, just within earshot of the two figures of evil. He had listened to every single word between their conversation. When he was sure that there was nothing left for him to eavesdrop upon, he swiftly and quietly slipped away from the Great Hall, as if he was never even there.

Moving through the village with great speed and swift, he was never noticed by any of the Nightmares or Outcasts that patrolled the now controlled village.

He reached the forest. For a moment, he made sure that he was not being followed. Safely covered by the branches and leaves accompanied by the dark shadows of the night, he took off his hood. It wasn't a he in the first place, but a she. A proud warrior of Berk and second in the skill of dragon riding.

Astrid navigated her way through the woods. Eventually, she came to a clearing. A cove in the middle of the forest, the last refuge for those who refused to give up hope and to continue fighting against Alvin and the Outcasts.

She slid into the cove. With the chief in bad condition and Gobber and Gothi attending to him all the time, Astrid practically had a lot of power. She gathered the Dragon Trainers: Fishlegs, Snotlout, Ruffnut, Tuffnut, and their dragons.

"Astrid," said Snotlout, "you're back. I should've gone with you."

"We would have attracted more attention," Astrid hissed. "That wouldn't have been helpful."

"I'm bored," Tuffnut suddenly said. "Sitting in this cove is no fun."

"When can we get some action in?" Ruffnut added impatiently. "We want to blow some things up."

"Enough about that," Fishlegs hastily interjected. "Any good news?"

A grin adorned Astrid's face. "Well, Hiccup, Jack and their team had just defeated an entire army of Pitch's Nightmares in another world!"

"Just the four of them?" breathed Fishlegs.

"I can do that," muttered Snotlout.

"You couldn't even handle a couple the last time they were here," smirked Tuffnut.

"I've got better news," said Astrid, earning everyone's attention. "Hiccup is returning to Berk."

"Took him long enough," Ruffnut muttered.

"This is the break we've been waiting for the past three months. You know what this means, guys," said Astrid, a determined gleam in her eye. "It's time to begin our counterstrike."

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And that's that! Thank you to everyone who has read and/or supported this story! But...it's _still_ not over.

As if I have said, from the beginning, I have planned for _The Defenders of Realms_ to be a three-part story. For those of you who would like to continue reading, part three will be entitled "The Archaic Kings", and will be published soon!

Part Three Summary:

Pitch has allied himself with Alvin the Treacherous, Hiccup's arch nemesis. As Berk falls and our heroes attempt to liberate it, Hiccup, Jack, Merida and Rapunzel now have to become part of a war that will decide the fate of all their worlds.

See you all next time!


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